Southampton Boss Ralph Hasenhuttl Insists Squad Must Put in 'Hard Work' After West Ham Defeat

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says he isn't expecting a 'miracle' at St Mary's and insists hard work will earn his side the results they need to avoid

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says he isn't expecting a 'miracle' at St Mary's and insists hard work will earn his side the results they need to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

A 2-1 home defeat to West Ham on Thursday leaves the Saints three points off the relegation zone and means Hasenhuttl has won two and lost two since taking over at Southampton.

His side took the lead through Nathan Redmond's scrappy 50th minute goal but two strikes from Felipe Anderson handed West Ham a deserved win, with Hasenhuttl claiming his side must continue their work on the training ground in search of results.

7 - Southampton have scored seven goals in four Premier League games under Ralph Hasenhuttl, as many as they had in their previous 10 games combined. Boost.

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"We have to keep working," Hasenhuttl told Sky Sports. "It is not about a miracle, it is about hard work every week.

"It is an intensive time now - one game after another. We know the fixtures are not so easy, but that is the Premier League. We saw (tonight) we have a lot of steps to go. It was a good beginning, but we are still near the (relegation) zone.

Southampton have lost 12 points from winning positions this season, two more than any other side in the Premier League, and Hasenhuttl says his side must stop gifting the opposition chances.

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"We have to learn that we cannot give West Ham the opportunities that we gave them," the Austrian added.

"We are critical of ourselves. We were hungry today, but not as speedy as in the last two weeks. We had a lot of players who were not at their top level today, but we still had a chance to win. We gave it away too easily - one shot outside the box and one counter-attack after a corner from us.

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"We did not make our best match today. We could see from the first 15 minutes that West Ham were going to have plenty of possession, but we did not put much pressure on the ball."